Our first Christmas
by Yhoretta
Summary: Xmas cliché (with a twist) to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside! How did the Doctor and Susan's very first Christmas go? Well...someone's going to have a lot of cleaning up to do.


It had been almost a year with the Doctor and Susan. A year of travel, hurtling from planet to planet, seeing new sights and new creatures. Ian Chesterton rummaged through one of the many closets in the TARDIS, standing precariously on a three-legged stool to do so. Barbara Wright came up to him and watched the man for a second before coughing pointedly.

'What on Earth are you doing?' she asked.

'I'm trying to find Christmas decorations. They must have a tree at least,' said Ian. He looked back to see Barbara wearing a red and green knitted pullover with comfortable-looking trousers and soft slippers.

'Well, you won't get any answers out of the Doctor _or_ Susan. I did my very best to make it obvious that it was Christmas, getting in their faces with my reindeer mittens. But they just watched me like I was a crazy person!'

'Perhaps they don't _have_ Christmas on their planet. Did we ever consider that?' Ian stepped down from the stool and closed the closet door in slight disappointment.

'I suppose not,' Barbara started walking with him along the hallway, 'and if they don't, then it would explain a lot. We should give the Doctor and Susan a Christmas. I mean, why not? I'm sure we can find something to use as decorations.'

Ian laced his arm through hers. 'Now that you mention it, I've got just the thing!'

A few hours later, the Doctor finished his tinkering with a content sigh. This was what he loved; silence to be alone with his thoughts and rest. He tossed the doohickey to the side, finished with it now, and made for the console room. Susan popped out of the seldom-used TARDIS kitchen and waved to the Doctor excitedly.

'Grandfather, look! Barbara's cooking a bird in our oven,' she exclaimed, eyes bright with glee.

'Whatever for?' asked the Doctor, grumbling to himself as he walked inside. Barbara was bent over a large turkey that shimmered with grease and flavour. She'd found it in the cabinets and burnt it a little, but she still pushed to finish the meal.

'Why don't you two go and find Ian, hmm? He'll have the answers to your questions,' she said.

The Doctor took Susan with him to the console room, expecting to find their favorite science teacher there. Instead, colourful streamers made from taped-together napkins hung from the ceiling and encircled the time-rotor. Flecks of grated cheese, meant to be glitter, covered the floor and a couple of small boxes lay underneath the controls, which were now covered with a green blanket. The Doctor bristled furiously.

'Who created all this mess in my TARDIS?' he bellowed, leaning heavily on his cane.

Ian popped out from the hallway with a few more boxes under his arms. 'That would be me.' Susan shot him a worried look. The human ignored it, gazing around the console room. 'It's Christmas you two. A time for being nice to one another and exchanging gifts and the like.'

'But did you really have to put cheese all over my floor?!' growled the Doctor. Ian decided that now was the time to look sheepish, passing them both one of his boxes. Susan opened hers to find a pair of Barbara's earrings glimmering under a sock. She squealed and held them to her cheeks happily with a rushed 'thank you' to Ian. The Doctor harrumphed indignantly and pulled out one of the science teacher's old jackets.

'Is this some sort of a joke?' he asked.

Barbara came in, trundling a table on wheels and a turkey. 'Did they get their presents?'

'One year. Is that really all it takes for you to go completely mad, defile my TARDIS and burn a helpless bird in my oven!' barked the Doctor. Barbara deflated, looking to Ian for an explanation.

'Come on, I can see the Doctor doesn't want to celebrate. Susan, you're welcome to join us,' said Ian.

'Oh yes please.' Susan threw a wistful glance to her grandfather, but he ignored it. She rapidly blinked away the tears pricking at her eyes and followed the humans away, chatting with them about the holiday.

The Doctor peered under the console and sat on the floor, placing the two remaining boxes on his lap. Inside was a red nightcap, a red coat, red trousers, and black ugg boots. A makeshift Santa costume. The Doctor sighed, the image of Susan so upset plaguing his mind. He clutched the fabrics resolutely.

'Deck the TARDIS-halls with boughs of duct tape, tralalalala, lalalala,' sang Barbara, putting the finishing piece along her bedroom door. Susan tugged at her stockings. 'Yes Susan?'

'Won't your turkey-bird be getting cold by now?'

'Oh, I suppose it will. Ian, darling, would you be a lamb and retrieve it from the Grinch's den?'

'Only if you two come with me,' replied Ian, crossing his arms. 'If I'm going to have my ears boxed, I'd at least like to have witnesses.'

Before any of them could move, a fierce trundling, grating noise echoed throughout the TARDIS. It sounded like the roar of a beast. Susan grasped hold of Ian in fright and shivered at the thought of an alien being loose in her grandfather's ship. Suddenly, a man in red popped out from around the corner with a table of turkey and three boxes under his arms, the table rattling under his enthusiastic push. He smiled at them all.

'Jolly Christmas,' he said. The warmth in his voice was so genuine and with such a scarcely-heard gentleness that no one bothered to correct him. Ian and Barbara glanced at each other, smiling. Susan threw her arms around the Doctor.

'Oh grandfather, I knew you wouldn't miss the celebrations!' she cheered. The Doctor shuffled guiltily but hugged her back.

'I don't know my dear. I guess I have a lot to learn about humans. You seem to understand them better than me. However, this is the last one. I mean it!'

Ian was looking at the table of turkey. He crouched down on his knees and scanned the bottom, then popped up again, even lifting the plate to look underneath. Susan stared at him questioningly.

'Blast, we've forgotten the silverware, and I think the bloody bird's gone cold,' he muttered. Barbara placed a fleeting hand on his shoulder like a teacher praising a child and took his place by the small table. She rolled up her sleeves and tugged at the turkey until one of the legs popped right off.

'I think it will taste just the same this way.'

'Why Barbara, that isn't very lady-like,' teased Ian. 'I would've thought this was the way to do it.' He pulled off the other leg -bringing with it quite a lot of extra meat- and passed it to Susan, who took the piece gratefully.

Suddenly, a young man fizzed into view. He had a mop slung over his shoulder and a red fez atop his head. He looked to be in the middle of something very important, but he threw his arms wide (dropping the mop) and gave Susan a lung-flattening hug, despite the protests of the Doctor, Ian and Barbara. The young man bounded away and let his fingers hover over something strange on his wrist.

'Merry Christmas Susan,' he said, before disappearing again.

'What in blazes was that all about?' asked Ian.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, and gestured vaguely to the turkey again. 'Never you mind Chesterton. You and Barbara go...chat for a moment. I'd like to speak with Susan alone.' He turned to the girl.

'Why did that man wish me a merry Christmas, grandfather?'

'Because that...was me, a future version apparently.'

'But I thought you said this was to be the last Christmas?'

'I suppose not.' The Doctor wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close. 'I suppose I'll be coming back to give season's greetings for a very long time yet!'

* * *

_**A/N: Virtual turkey for anyone who guesses which episode the 11th Doctor came from ;)**_


End file.
